


Should All Else Fail, Ask

by silveradept



Category: Angel: the Series, Leverage
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-23
Updated: 2017-08-23
Packaged: 2018-12-19 01:50:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11887386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silveradept/pseuds/silveradept
Summary: Lindsey is clearly desperate for help, because he's come to see his twin, Eliot, who long ago left that world, for help in evading the Senior Partners. Eliot is reluctant to provide anything at all.





	Should All Else Fail, Ask

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ultra](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ultra/gifts).



"I gave it to a vampire with a soul!" Lindsey laughed at a joke that clearly only he understood.

"Wait," Hardison said. "Like, real, bloodsucking, turn-to-ash-in-sunlight vampires?" 

"Duh," Lindsey said, rolling his eyes. "Wolfram & Hart represented all kinds of demons and nasty things."

"Oh, _hell_ no," Hardison said skeptically. "You are _not_ going to waltz in here and claim that vampires and demons are real without providing some proof, son."

As the two fell into the argument that Eliot had been trying to avoid since they had started the story outside the pub, he shrugged. "This is why I don't talk about my family, Parker. Between the 'psychic' detectives, the demon lawyers, and the Librarian," he said, pronouncing the capital letter almost effortlessly, "there's nothing I can talk about regarding my family that won't make people think I'm insane."

"Says the hitter and occasional fixer for an international crime syndicate weirdly focused on bringing down criminals doing massive amounts of social harm," Parker deadpanned back at him.

"This could go on for a while," Eliot said, gesturing at Hardison's increasingly agitated exchanges. "Should we step in or get--hey! What did I tell you about bringing artifacts here?!"

Eliot stormed over and plucked the coin that Hardison was looking at with intense scrutiny out of his hands. "I can feel that from all the way over there," he snapped at Lindsey. "Do you love bringing attention to yourself?"

"Chill, Eliot, it's harmless," Lindsey replied. "It was...given to me by a Slayer who thought I could use a lucky penny. It keeps me from attracting attention."

"When...?" Eliot left the question hanging.

"I've changed a lot since you saw me last. Got my hand chopped off, quit my position, got a new hand grafted on, and have been wandering the world, trying to find somewhere that I can stay at for more than a few days before something supernatural intrudes on my life. I heard you had finally moved to Portland, and thought it might be nice to see you again, since I didn't have work keeping me in L.A."

"What are you two talking about?" Hardison said, interrupting the possible bonding moment. "Am I supposed to believe this? Magic, vampires, demons, all of it?" 

Lindsey nodded while Eliot rolled his eyes. "Yes, Hardison," Eliot continued sarcastically, "magic is real, it's nothing like your tabletop fantasies or your television shows with impractically dressed women, and a great conspiracy exists to hide the truth from mundanes so they don't get mixed up in the middle of it and killed. Or turned into vampires or demons or whatever. All over the world, there are heroes fighting in the shadows to make sure prophecies don't come true, artifacts of great power don't fall into the hands of evil, and--"

"Okay, okay, I get it," Hardison snapped. "You know, you could have just said no. You didn't have to create some big practical joke at my expense. It's not like you, man." He stormed off upstairs.

Lindsey turned to Eliot,and offered him a fist bump. "Nice work, man. I didn't think that would work at all."

Eliot folded his arms over his chest. "Hardison has seen and created so much bullshit, some of it really good stuff, and I'll kill you if you tell him that. The only way to get him to not dig is to tell him the truth and make it seem like he's being played. He was probably already on the radar at Wolfram & Hart when you were there."

Lindsey nodded. "The Senior Partners hadn't quite adopted technology as much at the time, but they were looking for prospects to help start a division."

"What a terror that would have been," Eliot said. "He's bad enough as it is without any special help."

"So, as I was saying, before we got on this topic of strange creatures around us, you set up shop in a brewery? You and your food obsession, man."

"He's got a Michelin star for it already, and I'm betting there will be a second soon," Parker interjected. "He makes a lot of money just from the appetizers. Which we both get to test when he's in a cooking mood."

"Well, I'm glad," Lindsey said, beaming. "It was always a good night at home when Eliot decided he'd had enough of our parents' cooking and that he was doing dinner."

"You were never home when I was cooking," Eliot countered. "I learned it in the field, like all of my other skills."

"You just don't want to acknowledge that I taught you everything you knew. How to cook, how to sing..."

"What, that slop you made with American cheese and that out of tune power-chord karaoke you used to do for the Host?"

"Hey, at least mine was edible. That mayo, ketchup, soy sauce, guacamole and olives breakfast you tried to make as a surprise wasn't."

Eliot and Lindsey laughed together at the memory. Parker looked at them both with a little smile. "It's nice to see family getting along so well."

Lindsey and Eliot exchanged a glance. Parker chose not to let on that she saw it. She had felt the tension between them as soon as they had said hello at the coffee shop they used when screening potential clients. All of the small talk about family and career decisions and "catching up" had edges to them that suggested they both desperately wanted to talk about something else, but neither was willing to give the other the satisfaction of actually asking.

"Well," Eliot began, "you remember what happened when my cousin Shawn came to visit?"

"Yeah!" Parker's eyes gleamed. "Lots of big explosions, some really fun driving, and you made those really great burgers and fries in a misguided attempt at family bonding so that you could get him to apologize for a decades-long grudge."

Lindsey leaned in to Eliot. "Is she always like this?" he asked.

"Yep!" Parker replied brightly. "And I'm told I have excellent hearing, too."

Lindsey learned back in his chair. "Man. I thought Slayers were hard to beat. Also, what happened to the Cone of Silence thing you used to have about the weird stuff your family gets up to?"

"What, you mean Slayers and vampires and demons and psychics, fake or real, and the fact that the whole world is teetering in the brink of an apocalypse that's only being held back through the tireless efforts of an unseen and unsung group of heroes? Pfft," Parker chuckled, dismissing it all with a wave of her hand, "I already knew about all _that_."

"When did Eliot tell you?" Lindsey asked.

"Oh, never. Sunnydale High, class of 1999."

"Ah." Lindsey nodded. "I knew you looked familiar."

"Yeah," Parker nodded. "That was the most fun I had in my high schools." A dreamy look crossed her face. Eliot gave her a kiss on the cheek and motioned for Lindsey to join him in the kitchen.

"When she reminisces about killing demons and fighting with crossbows, it takes her a while to come back to our reality." Eliot disappeared into the pantry and came out with some potatoes. "Figure I can get a head start on dinner."

"Do you trust me with knives and fire now?" Lindsey asked. "Last time we talked, you threatened to sit on me and have a priest exorcise me."

"Last time we _talked_ ," Eliot replied, "you were busily trying to summon a greater demon to pass your bar exam. You'll forgive me if I'm a bit suspicious about your sudden decision to turn away from your law firm and try a virtuous path."

Lindsey waved off Eliot's point dismissively. "I'm sure whatever magic you have in place to protect--" In a fluid and far faster motion than Lindsey expected, Eliot set the knife down on the cutting board and grabbed Lindsey by the front of his suit jacket, pushing him up against the wall of the kitchen.

"I left that world behind, Lindsey, and I'm glad I got out before they made me into a Watcher for some cheerleader with Slayer potential. I don't appreciate you coming back and reminding me of the past. What do you want?"

Lindsey appeared to weigh his options before sighing. "Fine," he said, exasperated. "No, it's not a social call. I was hoping you might mention them just by talking about your past, but I really need to go see those monks you learned your Kung Fu from. They can help me hide from the Senior Partners more permanently than I am now. I thought you might be able to provide an introduction for me, or at least point me in the right direction to find them."

Eliot relaxed his grip a little, enough to let Lindsey not feel like he would go through the drywall. Eliot had had a hot streak when they were younger, but he'd also always been the bigger brother, and so he'd never actually hit Lindsey, no matter how many times Lindsey had tried to provoke him into doing it. Lindsey had felt danger when Eliot had put him up against the wall, but he knew that it would take more than just some bad memories to actually make Eliot mad.

"I don't know how they found me. They only told me that I had passed all the trials and that since I was in such harmony with myself, they would teach me what they knew. I don't know anything more than that."

"Uh-huh," Lindsey said, clearly not convinced. "Because the true path to enlightenment comes from becoming someone who hates themselves so much they'll wander the world and starve."

"I don't make the rules on that," Eliot said. "I'm just telling you what worked for me. You want more information, go to the Library. Maybe Jake will tell you more." Eliot let Lindsey go and returned to the counter.

"Jake is harder to find than you are," Lindsey snapped. "Trust me, I'd rather let him break my nose and then tell me what I need to know than dance around the subject with you here. I don't know if it's him or the Library, but every time I try to find him, he's always in some ridiculous place like Ishpeming, Intercourse, or Inspiration. I was _hoping_ you were on better terms with him than the rest of the family, but I guess that isn't the case." Lindsey pushed open the door to the kitchen and headed for the front door.

Eliot caught up to him right outside the pub. "This is a rumor," he said quietly, "and if you tell anyone you heard it from me, you had better hope you find those monks before I find you, but Jake occasionally mentions that the Library has an annex somewhere here in Portland. If you can find that, you can probably find him. Okay?"

Lindsey nodded. "Thanks."

Eliot scowled at him. "And if you can't, if you promise not to show him any of the real stuff, I'll ask Shawn to visit. He's annoying, but he's really good at finding people. Deal?"

"Deal." Lindsey and Eliot shook hands, and Eliot closed the door to the pub behind him pointedly.

"Miss you, too," they both said on either side of the door, in a voice they thought wasn't loud enough for the other to hear.

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to my beta, a wonderful blue star who patiently points out where things could be better.


End file.
